Catholic Church leadership continues to spew nonsense

I really don't want to post this article but I am compelled to.  I grew up Catholic and did my 12 years; if you know what I mean.  Nothing has upset me more than recent attacks by the church hierarchy on President Obama.  I hope my mother never sees this (she would not understand), but I feel I have to share my opinion to others.  What I am about to say does not speak to the majority of church officials that think otherwise and that have always lived up to their vocation.

Lately, I have been upset by stories I have seen on the History Channel that relate to World War II and the role of the Catholic Church in facilitating the escape of Nazi war criminals that were Catholic.  These criminals included Adolf Eichmann, Martin Bormann (who was presumed dead) and Josef Mengele.  Eichmann was responsible for developing the "final solution" and designed the gas chambers, Bormann was the "right hand man" to Adolf Hitler and we all know the disgusting things that Mengele did.  These three criminals escaped through what was known as the "ratline" that was orchestrated by many Catholic leaders.  The church was responsible for hiding these Nazis for 5 years until they provided a means for their escape to Uruguay in 1950.  Creating false documents and passports were all part of the church conspiracy and the evidence has been well documented.  Additionally, I learned that after the defeat of Germany, many Bishops in some European countries required all parishes to offer their Mass on Easter Sunday to Adolf Hitler.

This is very disturbing to learn at this point in my life, but it does not stop here. Just yesterday I had to be treated to the hate filled garbage from Bishop Daniel Jenky from Illinois who proclaimed that Barack Obama is traveling the same footsteps as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.  This occurs just weeks after Pope Benedict (member of the Nazi Youth) appoints Bishop Timothy Dolan of New York to the College of Cardinals to further ensure the extreme conservative agenda of the Catholic Church in future leadership voting.  You may remember that Bishop Dolan recently asserted that the Catholic Church did everything right in the sex abuse scandal and the controversy was aimed at destroying the Catholic Church.  Forget the fact that the church reported nothing, forgave the sins of the priests time and time again and neglected to help those abused.  I can't begin to speak of how I feel about the church position on contraception. 

I am furious with the Catholic Bishops and each and every Catholic should be furious too.  I am tired of reading anti-Semitic stories of Bishops abusing their power by selling nonsense.  Do you want to see something very scary?  (Watch this interview). Do you want to see the truth about the Holocaust and the involvement of the Catholic Church in its aftermath?  (Watch this documentary).

I don't think the leadership of the Catholic Church is walking anywhere near the footsteps of Jesus Christ.  I think the church is lost in the wilderness.  Barack Obama won the vote of 57% of Catholics during the 2008 election; lets hope he gets 99% in 2012!!

tomtoak

Update on Rhode Island Pension Thefts

I was sitting at a bar with an old friend and former state employee and the conversation shifted to the pension disaster in Rhode Island. I was surprised to hear that the retiree was not as concerned as I was about the loss of our COLA for 19 years. I asked him if he knew how much money he would be losing if the courts don't reverse the pension theft. He responded around $40,000. I was shocked. He had not really looked at the issue in depth. When I told him he is actually losing around $400,000, he gasped. I explained the additive nature of the theft. I'm left wondering how many other retirees are not doing the math.

I guess a lot of smart people are not thinking mathematically, but you can bet your last penny that Gina Raimondo knows the bottom line. The Rhode Island legislature, Gina Raimondo and Lincoln Chafee must really like following in Bernie Madoff's footsteps. $Billions are being stolen from the retirees.

After having another conversation with a different retiree that I respect for her dedication to her profession, I became more concerned about the thought process of retirees as a whole. In this conversation, my friend stated that she is glad the issue is behind us and we will never have to face this problem again. I chuckled and told her that she needs to remember how government works. Once government goes to "the well" for money to bail out their pet projects, they spend all the money and face the exact same dilemmas a few years down the road. When resources dry up, politicians continue to return to "the well". This is the nature of politics as we know it.

I ask you, do you really think this is the end of it? Can't you see the politicians 4 years from now demonizing the public retirees again because they get "exorbitant" pensions? I explained to my friend that this is the very reason why the court has to put a stop to the theft now.

I was a big supporter of Lincoln Chafee when he ran for Governor. At one point he was asked in a union setting his position on the public pension debate. Chafee's response was; a promise made is a promise kept. Chafee went back on his word. Raimondo said at the beginning of the process that all parties would have to pitch in to solve the pension crisis. Raimondo went back on her word. The entire solution was laid in the laps of the retirees and current public employees. No new tax solution was even debated to assist the state with keeping its promises.

Bottom line: Chafee is not trustworthy and Raimondo is not trustworthy. Hope lies with the courts and the unambiguous language found in the Rhode Island Constitution. What these crooks did is not constitutional and all public employees should not rest until the court draws the line. Retirees and public employees should not grow complacent and let the thieves get away with it. If our politicians get away with this one, they will most definitely come back to "the well". Mark my words!!

tomtoak